Impregnated cleaning pad and method



Patented Dec. 16, 1952 IMPREGNATED CLEANING PAD AND METHOD OFIMPREGNATIN G SAME John R. Fisher, Jr., Dayton, Ohio, assignor toInternational Steel Wool Corporation, Springfield, Ohio, a corporationof Ohio No Drawing. Application December 11, 1946, Serial No. 715,603

4 Claims. 1

This invention pertains to fibrous cleaning pads, and more particularlyto detergent impregnated pads and the manner of incorporating thedetergent material therein.

The instant cleaning pads may be of metallic wool, vegetable fibers suchas hemp, cotton or analogous material, or may be of synthetic orartificially prepared fibrous material, which will have been permeatedwith soap or other detergent material.

The impregnation of metallic wool pads with soap compound has been longand well known. However an equally continuing and insistent problem hasbeen that of increasing the life and period of usefulness of the soap ordetergent content of such pads, and retarding its too rapid dispersion.

Such fibrous cleaning pads when impregnated with pure soaps or with soapcompounds have a tendency to rapidly release the soap content thereofquite early in their period of use, thus leaving the fibrous pad emptywhich materially reduces the effective cleaning action thereof.

The object of the invention is to improve the character as well as themeans and mode of manufacture and operation of fibrous cleaning padsimpregnated with specially prepared soap or detergent material wherebythe cleaning pad may not only .be economically manufactured, but will bemore efficient in use, of increased durability and have a longer periodof usefulness.

A further object of the invention is to incorporate in the impregnatingsoap or soap compound a porous absorbent, flaky or leafy substance whichwill materially increase the absorption and retention of a greaterquantity of soap or detergent material and mechanically interlock thesoap carrying material to the fibers whereby the detergent will be moreslowly released during the use of the pad thereby maintaining animproved cleaning action throughout a greatly extended period ofusefulness.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fibrous cleaning padpossessing the advantageous structural and mechanical features, theinherent meritorious characteristics and the mode and manner ofproduction herein set forth.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will morefully appear in the specification, the invention intended to beprotected by Letters Patent consists of the features of construction,the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation, ashereinafter described or their equivalents.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

the cleaning pad comprises metallic fibers of the steel wool type ofcommerce of various grades or degrees of fineness according to theconditions of use. Such pad is impregnated with a liquid soap or soapcompound in which has been intermixed a quantity of a flaky, leafyporous absorbent material of which corn meal; wood fiour, or finesawdust have proven quite suitable. These substances are mentioned asexemplary but are not necessarily the only usable materials. Hence theinvention is not limited thereto.

The particle size of the intermixed absorbent material is of importance.That found of most satisfactory size is the portion which passes througha No. 40 U. S. Standard mesh screen and remains upon a No. U. S.Standard mesh screen. The screened material is added to a soap solutionor compound in quantity approximating ten percent (10%) thereof. Aproportion of the comminuted porous absorbent substance materiallygreater than ten percent of the mixture tends to clog the cleaning pad.Quantities thereof less than five percent of the mixture do notsufficiently increase the retaining capacity of the pad nor the durationof the soap content thereof.

To assure thorough dispersion of the porousmaterial in the soap contentand maximum ab,- sorption of soap thereby, these materials arepreferably milled together in a percussion type apparatus. For examplethe soap content and the intermixed porous material may be treated in aconventional paint ball mill, or a hammer mill for a half hour to anhour of treatment. However the same result may be accomplished'by otherknown methods. Such action not only increases the absorption andintimate combination of the soap or detergent with the intermixed poroussubstance, but it flattens the particles of the latter into flakeshaving rough irregular margins which have a tendency to interlock orintertangle with the fibers of the cleaning pad to which they willcling.

Tests have been conducted to determine the increased life of the soapcontent of the cleaning repeated until the pH agreed with that of thedistilled water used.

A liquid soap alone was tested, which permitted only forty strokes overthe panel. An addition thereto of suificient 40-60 mesh corn meal toafiord a five percent concentration increased the durability of the soapto eighty strokes. A further addition of the 40-60 mesh corn mealcontent to a ten percent concentration increased the durability of thesoap content to Well over two hundred strokes, at which stage the steelwool pad was worn to apoint where it was no longer usable, while thesolution still evidenced a pH of 7.6.

Other tests were conducted with initially solid soaps which weredissolved in water to a five percent concentration and under similartreatment produced results equivalent to those aforementioned. Woodfiour of 40-60 mesh was employed with comparable results. Particles;v ofsmaller mesh than 40-60 do not cling to the fibers suificiently securelyand were not found been made to the use of soap or soap compound as theimpregnating material and steel wool as the fibrous pad, it is to beunderstood'that the invention is not limited thereto, but fibrous padsof other material impregnated with detergents other than soap and soapcompounds may be substituted therefor, and comminuted porous absorbentmaterial other than corn meal, wood flour and fine saw dust may beintermixed therewith.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thusprovided a device of the character described possessing the particularfeatures of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but whichobviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions,detail construction and arrangement 'of parts without departing from theprinciple involved or sacri ficing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has beendescribed in language more or less specific as to structural features,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificfeatures shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosedcomprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the inventioninto efiect, and

the invention is therefore claimed in any of 1 its forms ormodifications within the legitimate and valid scope .of'the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. The herein describedmethod of retarding too rapid dispersion of soluble permeating detergentmaterial from a fibrous cleaning pad including intermixing a quantity ofparticles of porous absorbent vegetable material with the solubledetergent material, subjecting the intermixture to percussion treatmentwhereby at least a portion of the detergent material is bodilyincorporated in the porous absorbent particles and causing the detergentcharged particles to clingingly engage with the fibers of the cleaningpad.

2. The herein described method of retarding too rapid dispersion ofsoluble detergent material permeating a fibrous cleaning pad, includingintermixing a quantity of particles of porous absorbent vegetablematerial with the soluble detergent material to the extent of notexceeding ten percent nor not less than five percent of the volumethereof, subjecting the mixture to percussive treatment by which atleast a portion of the soluble material is bodily incorporated in theporous absorbent particles and impregnating the fibrous pad with suchpercussion treated mixture by which the detergent charged particlesbecome entangled with the fibers of the cleaning pad and clinginglyresist separation therefrom while,retarding dispersion of the detergenttherefrom.

3. A detergent permeated fibrous cleaning pad, including a quantity offlattened particles of porous absorbent vegetable material intermixedwith the detergent, the flattened particles being of irregular outlineand having serrated margins to become intertangled with the fibers ofthe cleaning pad, thereby retarding the dispersion of the detergentmaterial from thepad and increasing the durability thereof.

4. The herein described method including intermixing particles ofcomminuted porous absorbent material with detergent material in a liquidor semi fluid form and subjecting the intermixture to percussiontreatment, by which portions of the detergent material are incorporatedin the particles of intermixed porous absorbent material and the latterflattened, and thereafter impregnating a fibrous cleaning pad with thedetergent intermixture, the flattened particles of which are caused tobecome entwined with the fibers of the cleansing pad whereby thesubsequent physical separation of the detergent material from the padwill be materially retarded.

JOHN R. FISHER, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 173,136 Porter et al Feb. 8, 1376955,814 Leet Apr. 19, 1910 1,455,015 Atkinson May 15, 1923 1,526,149Jackson Feb. 10,1925 1,878,10 Brooks et al. Sept. 20, 1932 2,107,636Kingman Feb. 8, 1938 2,313,010 Brudal Mar. 2, 1943 2,447,241 EnglundAug. 17, 1948.

3. A DETERGENT PERMEATED FIBROUS CLEANING PAD, INCLUDING A QUANTITY OFFLATTENED PARTICLES OF POROUS ABSORBENT VETETABLE MATERIAL INTERMIXEDWITH THE DETERGENT, THE FLATTENED PARTICLES BEING OF IRREGULAR OUTLINEAND HAVING SERRATED MARGINS TO BECOME INTERTANGLED WITH THE FIBERS OFTHE CLEANING PAD, THEREBY RETARDING THE DISPERSION OF THE DETERGENTMATERIAL FROM THE PAD AND INCREASING THE DURABLITY THEREOF.
 4. THEHEREIN DESCRIBED METHOD INCLUDING INTERMIXING PARTICLES OF COMMINUTEDPOROUS ABSORBENT MATERIAL WITH DETERGENT MATERIAL IN A LIQUID OR SEMIFLUID FORM AND SUBJECTING THE INTERMIXTURE TO PERCUSSION TREATMENT, BYWHICH PORTIONS OF THE DETERGENT MATERIAL ARE INCORPORATED IN THEPARTICLES OF INTERMIXED POROUS ABSORBENT MATERIAL AND THE LATTERFLATTENED, AND THEREAFTER INPREGNATING A FIBROUS CLEANING PAD WITH THEDETERGENT INTERMIXTURE, THE FLATTENED PARTICLES OF WHICH ARE CAUSED TOBECOME ENTWINED WITH THE FIBERS OF THE CLEANING PAD WHEREBY THESUBSEQUENT PHYSICAL SEPARATION OF THE DETERGENT MATERIAL FROM THE PADWILL BE MATERIALLY RETARDED.